


O, Inverted World

by cheinsaw



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Comfort Food, F/F, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 05:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6106063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In her rush to get to the bottom of the divine spirit incident, Sanae breaks Kogasa's umbrella. (And then tries to make it better with a hot meal.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	O, Inverted World

**Author's Note:**

> we're nearing the end of femslash february! my goal was to get 4 f/f fics out this month and it's looking good. i hope you enjoy~

"Boo!"

To Kogasa's dismay, her shout is only met with a confused, blank stare. "Who are you?"

"I could be asking you the same thing!" Kogasa pouts, sighs, stamps her foot. "Everyone knows graveyards are the best place to scare people. I was here first, so you should leave."

The other girl just looks straight ahead dully. "I am a jiangshi born to protect this graveyard. I can't leave. What do you want?"

"I want a spellcard duel!" Kogasa cries.

Easier said than done. The girl sucks up divine spirits, recharging her own energies. Slow and confused as she is, she effortlessly weaves through Kogasa's bullets without taking a hit. Eventually Kogasa's cards run out, and she's forced to admit defeat.

"You should go," the jiangshi says. "Unless you want to join me?"

"I'll pass, I think." Kogasa sits down, resting her back against a grave marker. The jiangshi wanders off, her feet thudding heavy on the ground. So. It seems the cemetery has already been claimed, and Kogasa's lost again.

It's always like this. With youkai, they just want her to leave them alone, laughing at her and her outdated design. With humans, they treat her as absolutely worthless despite all her attempts to be useful. She can never win. She's already been informally banned from most of the areas around the Myouren Temple, and the Hakurei Shrine, and the Bamboo Forest. If there's no one left for her to scare, she thinks, she'll go hungry.

A rustling behind her, at the cemetery's entrance, startles her out of her thoughts. She leans up, peering over the rows of headstones, but has to squint to make sure she's seeing it correctly against the midday sun. A human girl, floating through the graveyard, a gohei in her hand and a blue and white shrine maiden's outfit flowing around her body. She fixes her gaze on Kogasa right away, a kind of confused acknowledgement spreading across her face.

"Oh, hey, I know you!" the shrine maiden calls, flying over to land in front of Kogasa.

"Ah, you came at a good time!" Kogasa says, jumping to her feet in excitement. "There's a girl back there, and I tried to fight her, but I couldn't seem to win before time out..." She bites her lip. "Can you do something about her? Please?"

"A fight between two youkai?" The shrine maiden looks puzzled, tilting her head a little. "Perfect! Okay! I'll take care of you both at once!"

"Ah--" Kogasa starts, but the shrine maiden's already firing.

 

By the time the sun is low in the sky and the shadows are long, Kogasa's finished cleaning herself up. She did the best she could, straightening out her clothes and cleaning her cuts, but it's a messy job at best. Most concerningly, one of her umbrella's ribs is snapped, and she feels it like a broken limb. Moving it as she usually does is out of the question, at least until she can find a way to set it. 

She drags herself to her feet, resting her umbrella against a nearby tree so she can gently pull it shut, to protect the ribs from any more damage. She winces, hissing in pain when the broken rib bends unnaturally, but after a second or two of agony she's gotten the whole thing shut and mostly straight. If she can just find a quiet place to rest for the night and patch up her umbrella, she'll definitely be back on her feet in no time.

"You're still here?" a familiar voice calls. Kogasa turns around, not wanting to believe it. There's the shrine maiden again, her eyes wide with concern. "Did I hurt you too badly?" 

"I'm okay," Kogasa tries, but her torn dress and scraped skin tell otherwise. "I mean. I will be okay."

"Are you sure?" the shrine maiden asks. Up close like this, Kogasa can get a much better look at her pretty face. "I feel so bad... Can I at least help you?"

"Um." Kogasa touches her umbrella's surface gingerly. "My umbrella is broken. Since it's part of me, it's..."

The shrine maiden frowns, biting her lip in concentration. "That's no good... I'm really sorry, okay? Can you fly, at least?"

"Probably, if I go slowly... It's just my umbrella that's hurt. I'll be okay by the morning once I set it." Kogasa grimaces and decides to change the subject. "What was with that jiangshi girl?"

"Oh, I beat her. She was guarding the mausoleum where Prince Shoutoku was buried."

"Who?"

"Hmm... It doesn't matter, I guess, since this is Gensokyo... I don't really understand, but it looks like it's over now."

"That's good," Kogasa sighs.

There's a short, uneasy pause before the shrine maiden speaks again. "I'm Sanae Kochiya."

"Kogasa Tatara." Kogasa gives a small bow. "Nice to finally properly meet you."

"You too!" Sanae hums. "Sorry for being so rude to you last time. And beating you up earlier. I was sort of..."

"It's okay," Kogasa says hurriedly. "You're a shrine maiden." _ What the hell does that mean? Now she's going to think you see her like Hakurei _ , she chastises herself.

"I'll make it up to you, okay? My moms said they'd make me my favorite soup for when I get back. Want to come with me?"

"Yes!" Kogasa blurts, excited and desperate.

Sanae's face lights up in a genuine, wonderful smile. "Okay! Follow me."

 

Sanae lives at the very top of Youkai Mountain. Kogasa had always thought the peak was where the high-standing tengu lived, until the incident a few years ago when outsiders broke into Gensokyo and took it over. She supposes those outsiders are, most likely, the "moms" Sanae spoke of earlier, so she doesn't press the issue. Still, it's a nice view, seeing the forests and the waterfall up close. The sun has set, the sky fading to a velvety blue, and it makes Kogasa strangely homesick. Somehow, it reminds her of the way things used to be.

"Here we are," Sanae calls out, touching down in front of a row of torii. Behind them is the biggest shrine Kogasa's ever seen, flanked by an equally impressive lake. There's no time for her to stare, though, as Sanae leads her right up to the front door. At the very least, the lit-up windows of the inner sanctum look warm and inviting.

"I'm home!" Sanae yells, sliding the door open. "I brought a guest."

Kogasa follows Sanae in, then gasps loudly and jumps back. "It's cold!"

"Oh, that's our air conditioning," Sanae says dismissively.

Kogasa's trying to adjust to this strange new phenomenon, waving her hand around in the cool air. It's as if it's a cloudy fall day inside the shrine, and a humid summer night outside.

"Close the door, you're going to let all the hot air in," someone complains. Kogasa has to crane her head to see the voice's owner, an imposing woman sitting cross-legged in a large armchair, seemingly focused on a book.

"Sorry!" Sanae says, sliding the door shut behind Kogasa. "It smells good in here! Is the ramen ready?"

"Sanae! You're so late! What happened?" the second goddess says, leaping up in front of the shrine maiden. She's smaller, and blonde, and clearly shares Sanae's enthusiasm for life. Kogasa can see it in her eyes. "Oh? What's this?"

"K-kogasa Tatara," Kogasa says, bowing.

Sanae giggles. "These are my moms. Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama," she says, pointing. "I'm their shrine maiden."

"Are you a karakasa?" Suwako asks. "I haven't seen one in ages."

"Are you surprised?" Kogasa grins.

Kanako rises to her feet, putting her book down and striding over to the kitchen. She's even taller standing up. "Well," she says. "You're certainly something. Oh, you're hurt."

"It's not that bad," Kogasa says hurriedly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please forgive me for not having an offering…" She bows deeply once more in front of the two gods.

Kanako laughs heartily, while Suwako grins and says, "It's okay! The only offering we need from a friend of Sanae's is for you to enjoy a meal with us. Sit, sit."

"O-oh, I don't need to eat," Kogasa says hurriedly. "I eat human fear."

"But you can eat, right?" Suwako presses.

"Technically..."

"A hot meal is always best for treating injuries!" she declares, and slams a bowl of ramen down on the table.

Kogasa can see there's no use in arguing with either of these women. She gingerly takes a seat next to Sanae, the steam from the bowl clouding her face for a moment. She can't even remember the last time she had ramen.

"Let's eat!" Sanae says, clapping.

The noodles are hot, comforting even if they aren't making Kogasa feel very full. They're salty and savory, the meat perfectly juicy, the broth delicate and light. "You like it?" Kanako asks, dabbing a napkin against her own mouth.

"Yeah," Kogasa replies, almost wide-eyed.

"Thank you, Suwako-sama," Sanae says, clearly overjoyed.

"No trouble," Suwako says. "Especially since you brought a friend. I always want your friends to think we're capable of cooking things besides pizza rolls."

Kogasa isn't sure what pizza rolls are, so she decides to try to change the subject. "You came from the outside world, right?"

"Yeah, we're kinda new here," Sanae laughs. "To be honest, I like it much better here than the outside."

"I was born here," Kogasa says. "What's the outside like?"

"Oh, it's... It's really different. Nobody can fly or do magic. No youkai. Things are a lot less colorful. But there's a lot more technology and things like that."

"Think of it this way," Kanako says. "Here, the laws are governed by faith. Outside, it's the same, but that faith takes the form of science. The realm of possibility changes when the beliefs of what is possible change."

"Oh…" Kogasa says, and decides it's best to finish up her food. The warmth of the ramen settling in her belly is nice, even if it's not doing much for the pain in her ribs.

"So what about you?" Kanako asks.

"Like I said, I was born here…"

"I mean, what does a karakasa do in Gensokyo?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Suwako pipes up. "Like, there's no way any humans would be scared of you when we've got things like funayuurei and tsuchigumo running around here."

"The tsuchigumo is  _ underground _ ," Sanae says defensively. "I never even met it--her."

"I didn't know we had a tsuchigumo," Kogasa says. It sounds much scarier than herself. She absently wonders if she'd be better at her job if she were able to inflict disease, but quickly decides the idea is ridiculous. "Um, I babysit."

"Babysit," Kanako repeats, incredulous.

"F-for the human villagers."

"I bet you're a real hit there," Suwako says.

"And I, uh, I do welding and blacksmithing sometimes."

"That's quite the assortment," Kanako says, trying to stifle a grin.

"Kanako-sama," Sanae pleads. "Don't make fun of her…"

"It's okay," Kogasa says. She's used to it; and besides, it seems to be more like lighthearted teasing than anything else.

"What'd you say your name was again?" Kanako says. "Kogasa?"

"Kogasa."

"We kind of only just met today," Sanae says. "I mean, we met before, but I, um, I fought her. I'm sorry," she adds, placing her hand over one of Kogasa's for a moment.

"Don't be," Kanako says. "It seems to be the most natural thing around here. Not that I do much of it myself, but Sanae seems to get in quite a bit of fighting."

"It was just a spellcard duel," Kogasa says. "Everyone does it. I wasn't seriously hurt or anything…"

"But today you were!" Sanae says. "I'm really sorry, okay?"

"It's okay," Kogasa says for the millionth time. "If I set the rib it'll be a lot better by tomorrow." The window above the kitchen sink seems to indicate that Kogasa's been in the shrine quite a while, the sky now blackened with small stars beginning to peek out.

There's a pause, Suwako and Sanae exchanging a meaningful glance. Kogasa's seen a few shrine maidens commune with their gods in the same silent way over the years, but never up close.

Finally Sanae speaks, her voice gentle. "Um, Kogasa, you don't have anywhere to go, right?" She looks toward Kanako pointedly.

Kanako sighs. "I believe we could offer you a place to spend the night. If you'd like to stay here, you are welcome."

"You can sleep on my floor! We have a spare futon. Kanako-sama, could you help me with that?"

"Certainly."

While Sanae and Kanako are setting up the extra bed, Suwako kicks her feet up onto the table and nods in Kogasa's direction. "Sorry my Sanae broke you."

"It's alright," Kogasa says. "She apologized. A lot."

"She doesn't know her own strength, I think. And she's excited to hunt youkai. Even though, by now, many youkai are her friends." Suwako shoots Kogasa a small smile. "I'm sure she'll take good care of you from now on."

"Th-thank you," Kogasa says, bowing her head to hide her blush.

Maybe, she thinks, just maybe she could get used to something like this.


End file.
